Warriors’ Klay Thompson looks to bounce back from rough Game 1

Updated 8:05 pm, Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

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Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, April 16, 2017. The Warriors won 121-109. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) less

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, April 16, ... more

Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

Warriors’ Klay Thompson looks to bounce back from rough Game 1

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For more than 20 minutes after Warriors practice Tuesday, Klay Thompson, his shirt drenched in sweat, worked through shooting drills with assistant coach Chris DeMarco. It was Thompson’s attempt to exorcise the memory of his rough Game 1 with swished jumpers.

“We have great shooters that, in theory, no shot’s a bad shot,” Stephen Curry said. “We all have confidence that we can make any shot we take.”

It is why, even when he labored early Sunday against Portland, Thompson kept shooting. In addition to going 6-for-16 from the field and 1-for-6 from three-point range, he struggled at times to stay in front of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

The Portland backcourt duo, thriving on a mix of floaters, layups and three-pointers, combined for 75 of the Trail Blazers’ 109 points. It was an uncharacteristic showing for Thompson, who has built a reputation in recent years as one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders.

Now, with Kevin Durant questionable for Game 2 on Wednesday, Golden State is left to hope that Thompson will return to his two-way dominance. He has upped his scoring average in each of the past four playoff seasons, culminating in his 24.7 points per game last postseason.

Thompson was as big a reason as anyone the Warriors reached their second straight NBA Finals last year. In the Western Conference semifinals against Portland, he averaged 31 points and shot 50 percent from beyond the arc. Later, in Game 6 of the conference finals against Oklahoma City, he set an NBA playoff record with 11 three-pointers.

Few visits: Two weeks after his Bulldogs fell to North Carolina in the national championship game, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few attended Golden State’s practice. He was on hand to chat with Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown, whose son, Elijah, is a highly touted graduate transfer from New Mexico who is considering Gonzaga.

During the practice, Few told Curry that the two-time MVP’s path to NBA stardom began when Curry hit eight three-pointers to lift 10th-seeded Davidson to an 82-76 win over seventh-seeded Gonzaga in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats reached the Elite Eight, in which they fell to eventual national champion Kansas by two points.

“I have an appreciation for the consistently high level that (Few) has led that program to since before I was even in college,” Curry said. “It’s pretty special that he’s still doing it.”